Makati to deploy teams to check compliance with plastic ban ordinance

MANILA, Philippines — The city government of Makati will deploy 49 monitoring teams to check if establishments across the city are complying with the city’s plastic ban order, which will begin to take effect on Thursday (June 20).

The teams under the Plastic Monitoring Task Force (PMTF) led by the Department of Environmental Services (DES), which was deputized to enforce the ban starting Thursday, have been briefed extensively on the legal basis and contents of Executive Order (EO) No. 007 series of 2012, which bans the use, sale and distribution of plastics and other non-biodegradable materials such as Styrofoam (polystyrene) as packaging materials.

“We have made sure that our monitoring teams are fully prepared to recognize violations of the ban during their inspection and to take appropriate action in accordance with the provisions of the executive order and the Solid Waste Management Code of Makati,” Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay said in a statement Wednesday.

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Under the code enacted in 2003 through City Ordinance No. 2003-095, the nine-year grace period for compliance to the provision on “Use of Environment-Friendly Materials” ended last December 31, 2012.

Binay extended the deadline to June 20 of this year through the said EO 007, in order to “give establishments ample time to deplete their inventories and replace these with environment-friendly materials.”

According to Binay, individual violators will be fined P1,000 or imprisoned for five days to 30 days, or both at the discretion of the court.

An errant corporation or establishment will be fined P5,000, or the owner may be imprisoned from 30 days to a year, or both at the court’s discretion. If warranted, the business permit or license may also be cancelled, he said.

In a report to the Mayor, DES head Danilo Villas said each of the PMTF monitoring teams is composed of at least four members representing Makati Action Center, Makati Health Department, Liga ng mga Barangay (village), Business Permits Office, Economic Enterprise Management Office and DES.

The PMTF has been designated to monitor the compliance of all supermarkets, public markets, shopping malls/department stores, restaurants, fast food chains, convenience stores, canteens, eateries and similar establishments to the ordinance.